Belgium

Portuguese guy here, but isn't this just a direct consequence of the perfectly divided electoral system? If your voters are all X-language speaking, they (the voters) don't really care about your Y-language level. I was surprised to learn that even in Brussels the electorates are divided by language.

In other multilingual countries being a poliglot is a great political advantage, I've just read about this unlikely white gay mayor in a mostly black town in South Africa. His secret? A rare white Zulu-speaker.

In Switzerland if you're running in a bilingual Canton you're also expected to speak both and if you aim for national politics you know German is essential.

But here you can always build a career encapsulated in your own language bubble. People normally learn languages because they need or feel it will bring them a big advantage. If it's just a "nice thing to do" most won't.

The irony of linking to a reddit image 😅

Anyway, is there a corresponding image for the Flemish ministers? Or even the ministers *German *proficiency?

I'm not sure that I really care tbh. As long as they're respectful towards the other language and do their jobs. Languages are hard, not everyone finds it easy to learn (myself included, my French is not great to say the least). They can't all be Raoul Hedebouw, changing language mid-speech.